1940s Joseph Di Mauro Heart Hole

The elder Joseph Di Mauro was part of the mass emigration of master
Sicilian luthiers (Busato, Oliveri Anastasio, etc) who left Catania in
the early 20th century. In the 1930s Di Mauro and his countrymen
setup a series of shops on the East side of Paris and quickly adapted
their skills to making jazz guitars in the Selmer Maccaferri style. Di
Mauro was certainly one of the most successful and long lasting of
these Franco-Sicilian luthiers as his guitars were widely adopted by
players of many styles. Notable players include Moreno, Boulou Ferre,
Patrick Saussois, Samy Daussat, Jean-Yves Dubanton, and even Pat
Metheny! Di Mauro guitars were produced continuously until the early
90s, first by Antoine and then later by his son Joseph.

This guitar was built by Antoine Di Mauro's brother Joseph, not be
confused with Antoine's son of the same name. The distinctive heart
shaped sound hole clearly
marks it as his work. This model is extremely rare with very few known
surviving examples.

This guitar has the customary three piece neck
and arched back that was typical of Franco-Sicilian makers such as Di
Mauro, Busato, Bucolo, etc. The top is spruce, the neck is mahogany with an ebony spline, and the back and sides are made from a stunning piece of birdseye maple!

This instrument possess the much coveted dry, classic tone that is
only found in the best vintage Gypsy guitars. Each note is crisp, clear,
and well defined with the kind of character and complexity that only
comes with age. Projection is excellent as the Castelluccia style three
brace design really lets the top move. The tone of this guitar is unusually rich, with a full and sonorous low end. I particularly like the low-mid
"growl" this guitar produces as it gives chordal work a wonderful
attitude that is lacking in other, more "polite" instruments.

This instrument is setup for modern style professional playing with amazingly low 2mm action.

The
condition is excellent for a guitar of this age. The tailpiece was replaced with a DB tailpiece and the tuners were replaced with a set of Schaller butter bean tuners. Amazingly, there are no cracks but the guitar does have a fair amount of pick wear and dings. The top has sunk somewhat around the bridge and the 2nd brace is beginning to split.

This is an exceptional price for such a coveted vintage Gypsy guitar. Normally this model sells for $4K or more!

This is the CASH price...add 3% if you'd like to pay with a credit card. Add 4% for international credit card orders.